ANUARUL ACADEMIC 2003-2004 - Facultatea de Teologie "Andrei ...

as follows: “the miserable pearl barley soup whose grains can be counted, a coupleof tens in a ladle.” 47 Many times this treatment brings about protests: “When ayoung boy complained there were no grains in the soup, he was answered: `If youhad wanted grains, you should have stayed at your mother`”. 48 . However, in mostcases the protests were useless.Besides starvation, thirsting was largely practiced. Dumitru Bordeianudescribes how this was practiced by force:“First, the inmate received salty water. However, before that he was beatenuntil he was left half dead. Then the inmate was poured up to 1 kilo of saltywater…The only water available was that from food which was insufficient.The lips were dried, the tongue was dry, and the pharynx was dry aswell…They were drinking salty water even without being forced to doit…Many of them drew the conclusion they will be killed through thismethod. The torture lasted for one month and was followed by severebeatings.” 49Without food and water, people were driven mad. Uncontrolled, desperate gestureswere made. Fr. Imbrescu wanted to satiate his hunger and he died because of an intestinalocclusion:“Fr. Imbrescu, a tall broad shouldered man, he could not satiate his hungerwith a couple of spoonfuls of soup served with the little ladle. However, inorder to feel satiated at least once per day, he began collecting in his messkettle the morning porridge, the midday soup and the evening soup to eat allof them at one time…It is said that this caused him an intestinal occlusion andhe died in his cell as he had no medical help” 50 .In another case, we witness to a degradation of family relations. The actiontook place in a cell where father and son were together: when the bread came, aslice of bread weighing 80 grams, as the young man was sleeping; the father ate hisson’s slice also. Finally, the son beat his father 51 . This is similar to an apocalypticimage. Other people would go on a strike, knowing that they will be forcedly fed.Fr. Oancea relates about one of the fellow prisoners called Mureşanu:“Mureşanu did as follows. Not only that he ate his cellmates` slice of breadsecretly, but he also accepted forced feeding and knocked at the door shouting:`47 Zosim Oancea, Închisorile unui preot ortodox, Bucureşti, Editura Christiana, 2004.48 Ibidem, p. 86.49 Dumitru Bordeianu, Mărturisiri din mlaştina disperării, Bucureşti, Editura Scara, 2001, p.196.50 Zosim Oancea, op. cit., p. 116.51 Ibidem, p. 178.160